Posts Tagged ‘learn marketing’

Three Ways To Grow Your Business…Effortlessly

By: Darcy Juarez on: May 14th, 2013 5 Comments

“What’s your fascination advantage?”

That’s the big question around the office these days…

You see, attendees at SuperConference were offered the opportunity to take the first science-based personality brand measurement test that measures your “fascination advantage.”

The benefit of taking the test was to learn how you could use what comes naturally to you more effectively…and effortlessly grow your business.

Those of us who took it received a report which shows how our personality is uniquely hardwired to fascinate customers, co-workers, and colleagues.

Everyone here at GKIC took it (even Dan Kennedy.) And now that we have the results, we are working on how we can use more of our “fascination advantages” to be more effective at what we do.

Developed by Sally Hogshead, the best-selling author of Fascinate and the world’s leading expert on fascination, what makes this test different than other personality tests you’ve seen (and perhaps taken) is that instead of measuring how you see the world, this test measures how the world sees you.

Because as Sally points out, your personality is not only what makes you unique and different, but it’s how you add value. Or I should say how you potentially add value. Because if you aren’t using the things people see as strengths in you, you could be hindering your chances of success.

This is an important point.

And while I’ve learned through trial and error to gravitate towards using my strengths, from reading my report, I realized there were areas I wasn’t capitalizing on.

In order to help explain, I’ll use my own report to demonstrate.

When I took the test, I discovered that I’m the personality archetype called “The Vault.”

This means that one of the ways my personality is most likely to add a distinct value is by consistently delivering and being constant in my words and actions.  In other words, I need to be stable, dependable, and reliable.

Now that tends to feel pretty natural to me, however, not everything was so obvious.  Here are three things I learned that will help you grow your business effortlessly…

1) Don’t make the wrong assumptions. One of the things my report revealed was that I watch and review details carefully. Suggesting that I like to use spreadsheets, I thought the test was mistaken, because actually I hate using them.

Of course, despite my dislike for them, I do use them quite a bit. And when I started thinking about how this test reveals how the world sees me and not how I see myself, it made sense.

While I don’t like spreadsheets, others are fascinated by how I use them to successfully manage details.  Which means I can add more value to our clients by revealing more of how I use spread sheets successfully.

Lesson learned:  Don’t assume that others won’t like what you don’t like or that they will like what you like.

2) Stop hindering your own success.  The problem with modeling certain gurus is that you may be trying to be something you’re not. As a result, you might be turning people off.

For example, my report revealed that “passion” is my “dormant communication trigger.” That means that while I feel passionately about certain people and topics, I don’t gush the way people do that have passion as their primary way of communicating. I’m not highly expressive and tend to be more reserved.

So if I tried to mimic someone who had the primary trigger of passion and excessively raved and praised ideas and people, then I would come across as fake.

3) Start using your personality brand to your advantage when managing your team. My report also revealed how I could get the most out of my team by knowing what their fascination advantages were. (Step four of Sally Hogshead’s five step system for amplifying your fascination advantage as exposed in our blog post, “Yes, You’re Fascinating, But Are You Using It To Your Advantage?”)

By discovering what my team members’ strengths are, I can help place them in roles where they will be most successful. A person who has the primary trait of “passion” for instance will do better in face-to-face conversations and will perform better if I give her more face time and in-person contact.

This will also help me make better hiring decisions, know how to motivate my employees better and build a better culture which will help grow GKIC over time.

If you want to grow your business more effortlessly, discover how to add value through your personality and start leveraging your fascination advantages today. When you do, you’ll not only feel more comfortable and natural in everything you do, but your business will grow faster and easier than you ever imagined possible.

NOTE: Do you know how others see you? If you’d like to start leveraging your fascination advantage today, you have the opportunity to take the same  science-based personality brand measurement test that I took and receive your report for FREE, by clicking here.

Response was so overwhelming at SuperConference, that Sally has created a series of FREE videos on using your fascination advantage.  Plus, THIS WEEK ONLY, Sally is waiving her fee for the GKIC faithful and allowing you to find out what your fascination advantage is. You’ll receive a free report explaining:

  • What your primary and secondary communication triggers are and how to use these to your advantage.
  • What your dormant trigger is (this is what you want to avoid using.)
  • How to use these triggers to be more successful in your business and what you should look out for so you’ll stop hindering your success.
  • A three-step action plan for using your ‘fascination advantage” in your business.
  • How you compare to others who have taken the test.
  • What your next steps should be to improve your results.
  • How to hire and build teams more effectively.

To take your FREE test and receive your FREE personalized report, click on the link below.

FascinationMarketingSystem.com

Begging For Change To Millionaire In One Year. His Secret Revealed…

By: Darcy Juarez on: March 26th, 2013 1 Comment

He was abused and started drinking as a teenager.

Ending up homeless, he begged on the streets for change in order to survive.

Today Toronto Canada native Francis O’Dea is a multi-millionaire.

O’Dea says, “One year I was broke, the next year I was a millionaire.”

What is his secret?

He says for six months he lived on the streets with no clue as to what he wanted or how to get out of his current situation.

He changed his circumstance by changing his focus. 

He got a job and focused on turning his life around.  Later, with a friend, he opened a little coffee shop naming it, “Second Cup.”

Today, Second Cup is Canada’s largest Canadian-based specialty coffee retailer with more than 360 cafes across Canada.  Although, O’Dea sold his shares in Second Cup in 1988 when they had 150 locations, he went on to enjoy an extremely successful business career, receiving the Order of Canada in 2004.

While sometimes it’s a lack of focus on what we want that causes us to stay stuck, other times it’s caused by getting too comfortable in our routine and not knowing how to change our situation.

By just shifting your focus, even slightly, you can create big wins.

Here are some simple ideas for where you can shift your focus to improve your business and your income:

Sharpen your marketing. If your marketing isn’t working the way the way it used to, a quick way to correct the problem is to consider hiring a professional copywriter to audit your copy. While it may make more sense to start fresh, sometimes an audit of an existing piece of copy or funnel can identify slight changes and quick fixes that will make your marketing fresh and profitable again.

Before you hire a copywriter, be sure to read our FREE report:  The 7 Key Questions Every Copywriter You Hire MUST Be Able to Answer To Write Killer Direct Response Copy and Create Marketing Campaigns That Will Outsell The Pants Off Your Competition.

Check your client-attraction system. If you aren’t earning the income you desire, focus on doing one thing every day towards getting more and better clients.  Fine-tune your approach, learn how to identify and attract clients who can pay you big money right now. (Dan Kennedy will introduce and present his new “Specific –Customer-Focus Process® at SuperConference May 2nd –May 4th)

Specialize in a niche. Narrowing your focus in your industry can quickly increase your income.  If you’ve already picked a niche, see if there are courses or certifications which can further qualify you as an expert in your chosen specialty.

Identify a gap. Look for an area which is not being covered well or is in big demand.  For example, Mike Capuzzi of CopyDoodles saw a need in the copy cosmetics field as there were no real options other than to hire a graphic artist or to individually mark up your copy and try to photo copy it. By creating a product to fill that gap, he quickly rose to the expert in his field. Concentrate your effort on identifying and filling a need.

Focusing on the most important activities which keep your business growing is what separates the most successful businesses in the world from the businesses that spend their entire shelf life wondering why nothing they do seems to work.

So if you’re wondering how to bring your business up a notch, look at how you’re spending your time—you might just need a slight focus adjustment.

NOTE: Just a quick reminder that Dan Kennedy will be presenting a very special and rare Internet Webinar with Infusionsoft TODAY – Tuesday March 26th – at 2 pm EST. It’s on the crucial topic commonly referred to as “Lifecycle Marketing”… the real-world “Survive and Thrive” principles Dan has identified based on the many years of research he’s spent looking at the “what works/what doesn’t” marketing efforts of over 10,000 small businesses. When you attend this webinar, you’ll discover:

  • How to fix “follow-up failure”… the devastating death spiral a business experiences when leads wander off into the weeds to disappear forever… without wasting endless hours of your valuable time!
  • Discovering your company’s own unique WOW – the powerful, emotional experience that only YOU bring to the table – and the easiest way imaginable to deliver it to the surprise and delight of your satisfied customers
  • A ferociously simple trick that you can do RIGHT NOW that will enable you to quickly and easily attract, capture and nurture WAY more leads!
  • The crippling disease of multiple system madness… how it’s killing your profits without you even knowing it… and clear steps to take NOW to put you on the vital path to thrive in your business.

And MUCH MORE Besides! Dan doesn’t do these kinds of presentations very often and this one is particularly near and dear to how he thinks about running a successful business. Register for this FREE, rare webinar here.

Doubles Your Sales In 20 Minutes Using These E-mail Secrets

By: Dave Dee on: March 7th, 2013 3 Comments

Recently I was speaking with a busy, small business owner and Internet marketer who confided he wasn’t doing what he coached other businesses to do.

He said, “I know I should be doing this for my own business too, but sometimes I act like the cobbler with holes in his shoes that spends so much time repairing others shoes that he doesn’t have time to repair his own.”

He added that what makes it worse is it’s the one thing he knows he really needs to be doing.

In a tough economy every penny counts and not doing this is like leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table.

What was he neglecting?

He wasn’t giving his prospects and customers a second (and third and fourth…) chance to do business with him.

A costly mistake in any economy.

You see, according to market researchers, 98-99% of your website visitors won’t make a purchase on their first visit.

Converting even just 1-2% of those lost visitors could make a significant difference to your bottom line.

For example, if 6,000 people visit your website each month, a 2% bump in your conversion rate translates into 120 additional customers. Times that by the gross profit you make per sale and, I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s something that deserves your attention.

So how do you go about converting that additional 2%?

Email marketing.

In fact, according to Ogilvy who are cited as pioneers in the interactive marketing industry, “People who are registered to receive email marketing messages from your company will purchase an average of 167 percent more than those people in your marketing database who are not receiving email.”

Email marketing allows you to keep in touch with prospects as well as current and past customers, clients and patients.

It helps you drive traffic back to your website, sales pages and promotions.

It gives you the opportunity to educate your customers so they can be more successful in their business.

You can position yourself as a go-to resource.

You can cross-sell and up-sell your products and services to existing clients.

And win customers back.

This business owner knew all this, but still wasn’t doing it.

Like you, me and everyone, he’s busy.

But the reason he wasn’t doing it went beyond that.

He wasn’t doing it because he was worried about what many businesses are concerned about when they start thinking about doing email marketing …

Creating content.

Writing relevant content that’s both interesting and helpful to your readers is a real concern.  Plus the fear it will suck up all your time.

Another concern this entrepreneur worried about was that his emails might alienate some of his customers, damaging his reputation.

If you have any of these concerns, here are four tips that will help you write emails FAST and build a solid relationship with your readers.

1) Invite your customer in. Be transparent and personal in your messages. Give your customers a sneak peek inside your home, your business, your leisure time.  Tell them about something you read, a movie you watched, or something funny or spectacular that your kids did. Tell them about where you travelled or what a customer said to you.

Not only is it easier and faster to write about what you know, but it’s more interesting too. Plus, it helps you to build more of a relationship with your customers by helping them feel like you trust them like a friend.

Some of my most successful (and profitable) emails have revolved around a personal event from my life. When you put your trust in your readers with details of your personal life, they’ll be more likely to trust you back.

2) Stick to one topic. Decide on one topic you want to talk about before you start writing…and stick to it. Often when people don’t decide what they want to write about first, they ramble on to different topics.  This is like you giving your reader an invitation to stop reading.  It’s important that you focus your email on one idea.  Do this upfront and you’ll save a lot of editing time later.  Plus your emails will be more effective because your audience will only need to remember one big idea per email.

3) Brevity. Keep your messages to 500 words or less. This will make it easier for prospects to finish and faster for you to write.

4) Write conversationally. GKIC member, Matt Furey writes email messages to his list every day…bringing him $10,000+ per email. It only takes him about 20 minutes a day. He recommends writing like you speak. In fact, he often “speaks” his message into a transcription device. You can even buy devices that attach to your computer with a microphone that type what you speak.

 

Email is still one of the most effective strategies for doubling and tripling your sales. Using these tips will not only help you write faster, but will help you strengthen the bond between you and your readers, making your emails more effective.

By the way, the marketer I spoke of earlier is now doing email marketing. He says it has:

  • Re-engaged prospects and past customers making them once again interested in his services.
  • Brought inquiries about other services he offers.
  • Driven more traffic to his website.
  • Educated people on how he can help them.
  • Converted more of his prospects into paying customers.

You don’t have to spend a ton of time creating emails to get these kind of results. And the time spent will be well worth it.

NOTE: On Friday, March 8, 2013 at 9:30AM I’ll be doing a LIVE FREE TRAINING: “E-Mail Marketing Made Easy.  How One Quick E-mail Strategy Brought In $5,000 From Dead Leads”

During my live VIDEO Training I’ll reveal:

  • My proven e-mail templates that not only get your
    e-mails read…but also move dead leads to buy
  • The recipe to my “Secret Sauce” on exactly what to do
    and what to say to achieve maximum engagement with
    your list
  • A powerhouse follow-up system that will triple your
    profits from using these types of e-mails.
  • And lots more!

You Don’t Need To Sign Up Or Register, just Click Here …and join me for the most profitable breakfast you may ever have this Friday, at 9:30 am Eastern.

Do you want even more fast and easy tactics for your business? Be sure to sign up for our very special “Discovery Day” on May 5, 2013. Discovery Day will be focused on newer, cutting edge ways to get more leads in your business from different sources so you can get more clients, customers and patients on a local level.

These are tactics your competitors aren’t using. They will be taught by experts who’ve done it, helped clients do it, coached others to do it and do it daily. This day will not be recorded, therefore it will never be available again.

LIVE TRAINING!!! – The $5,000 E-mail System

By: Admin on: March 5th, 2013 11 Comments

On Friday, March 8th at 10:30AM Eastern GKIC Chief Marketing Officer Dave Dee is doing a live VIDEO Training entitled:

“E-Mail Marketing Made Easy.  How One Quick E-mail Strategy Brought In $5,000 From Dead Leads”

During this live broadcast Dave is going to give you:

  • His proven e-mail templates that not only get your e-mails read…but also move dead leads to buy
  • The recipe to his “Secret Sauce” on exactly what to do and what to say to achieve maximum engagement with your list
  • A powerhouse follow-up system that will triple your profits from using these types of e-mails.
  • And lots more besides!

You Don’t Need To Sign Up…You Just Need to bookmark the page…and come back this Friday, at 10:30 am Eastern.

Simply Hit Play at 10:30 Eastern and you’ll have access to the live training. If you still don’t see anything, just refresh your browser

Not yet registered for SuperConference?  Click Here To Get The Lowest Price Available Now!
or go to www.dankennedy.com/sc2013

Four Ways Shark Tank Entrepreneurs Grew Their Business Without Spending Money

By: Darcy Juarez on: March 5th, 2013 4 Comments

Last year I met Barbara Corcoran at GKIC’s women’s event.

Her credentials include straight D’s in high school and college and being unsuccessful at twenty jobs by the time she turned twenty-three.

But it was her next move that made her one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the U.S.

Turning a loan of $1000 from an ex-boyfriend into a five-billion dollar business.

An investor/shark on the hit reality show, Shark Tank, she has invested in multiple businesses and is also a bestselling author offering tips to small business entrepreneurs.

The thing is… it isn’t just Barbara’s investment that helped make the companies she invested in successful.

Find out four ways Barbara’s entrepreneurs found business success and grew their business using something other than cash, brain capital or investments.

Find out who your target market really is. Cyclists Erin Whalen and Tim Stansbury created a patented formula to clean cyclist’ dirty hands on the road called Grease Monkey Wipes.

The problem was that sales were only trickling in. What they discovered the night they presented their product to the sharks was that cyclists weren’t their only market.  In fact, it turned out that the automotive, gun and farming industries were hugely interested. Their newfound target audience turned their product into a booming business literally overnight.

Are there other markets you can test to see if your product or service will sell better to a different target audience?

Use celebrity. Brett Thompson got cash from Barbara to expand his BBQ Sauce business. But it wasn’t just the cash that helped. The notoriety he got from being associated to Barbara gave his business what it needed to go from selling sauce in 5 small stores to selling it in 500 large grocery stores within only months.

Copy Brett by creating your own celebrity marketing with Barbara Corcoran.  You can not only get your picture taken with her at SuperConference 2013 to use in your own marketing, but you’ll also have a chance to get up to $50,000 from her when you pitch your business to Barbara and the other GKIC sharks for the chance to gain cash, financing, partnership or contribution of “brain capital to your business.

How else can you use celebrity in your business to boost sales?

Tell your story.  Jack Barringer couldn’t lose his beer belly which caused him to have high blood pressure. His doctor told him he needed to do push-ups but he wasn’t physically strong enough. So he invented a simple push-up device to drop the pounds. The sharks said they would invest if he lost 30 pounds using his device. Jack lost over 36 pounds using his fitness product and is now featured in his infomercial, giving it a story and more credibility.

You can strengthen your business position and inspire people with your own business story. Knowing how to tell effective stories is one of the most powerful ways to influence consumers and motivate them to buy. Plus they are great for attracting media attention.

How can you use or create a story in your business?

Use personality. Using personality in your advertising, marketing and communications can add instant results without having to spend an extra penny. Kim Daisy is the founder of Daisy Cakes. Part of Kim’s unique character that shows through is her southern charm, passion for her cakes, using only all natural and preservative free ingredients, and that she is hard working.

She sold $100,000 worth of cakes within three weeks of her appearance on Shark Tank and is now a regular top selling brand and personality on QVC. (Learn the 7 elements of a personality-driven business and how to develop your character in How to Create Personality in Copy.)

How can you bring your character to life in your marketing?

It’s common to think you need money to start a business or expand a business. But often all it takes is one good idea or one new strategy to create a breakthrough.

What one GKIC strategy has created a breakthrough for you? Share in the comments below.

NOTE: LIVE FREE TRAINING!  How To Write a $5,000 E-mail for ANY Business!

On Friday, March 8th at 9:30AM Eastern GKIC Chief Marketing Officer Dave Dee is doing a live VIDEO Training entitled:

“E-Mail Marketing Made Easy.  How One Quick E-mail Strategy Brought In $5,000 From Dead Leads”

During this live broadcast Dave is going to give you:

  • His proven e-mail templates that not only get your e-mails read…but also move dead leads to buy
  • The recipe to his “Secret Sauce” on exactly what to do and what to say to achieve maximum engagement with
    your list
  • A powerhouse follow-up system that will triple your profits from using these types of e-mails.
  • And lots more besides!

You Don’t Need To Sign Up Or Register, just Click Here Now and bookmark the page…then join Dave for the most profitable breakfast you may ever have this Friday, at 9:30 am Eastern.

Do you have an idea, are a start-up, or are already operating successfully and looking to expand? If you feel you have a lucrative business idea and could use some backing whether financially or a joint venture, GKIC SuperConference is the place to be.

This year you will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to pitch your business to Barbara Corcoran, Dan Kennedy, and the GKIC Sharks to receive up to $50,000 cash, financing, partnership, or brain capital.

Plus, millionaire and multi-millionaire business owners attend SuperConference. This is your chance to network with them, get ideas and feedback on your business, and perhaps find someone to joint venture with. And it’s not uncommon for people attending our events to pick up the one strategy they’ve been searching for that causes them to have a breakthrough year.

Are you ready to join them?

This is your last chance to save up to 68% off your registration. You can register here, or learn more about our upcoming SuperConference at www.dankennedy.com/sc2013.

Four Secret Principles Between The Haves And Have Nots

By: Darcy Juarez on: February 21st, 2013 4 Comments

The other day I read that Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry are due to release a new TV series…

The name of their new series is The Haves and the Have Nots.

Based on the musical play written, produced and directed by Perry, it follows the dynamics of the affluent Cryer family and the family of their not-so-affluent housekeeper – and the dramatic secrets that reside within each.

The show made me think about what I’ve read in recent months about the differences between the “haves” and “have nots” in real life.

A vanishing middle class caused by globalization has driven down wages for people with routine skills. Yet incomes at the top have skyrocketed.

I’ve read that students should focus on science, technology, engineering and math to earn the best money in the future.

The truth is that if you want to be a part of the “haves” it doesn’t matter if you focus on art, English or technology. Or if your business sells services or products that are widely accessible with lots of competition or your business sells products or services that are normally in a low-price point…

Because people will pay more for products and services than you imagine. Plus somebody will always be at the top of the food chain, so to speak, dominating their market, so why shouldn’t it be you?

In Dan Kennedy’s Marketing to the Affluent program, Dan shares story after story of businesses that could easily be commoditized and competing on price, but instead are dominating their market and selling their products and services at top dollar. From pet sitters to guys selling lobster to his story of buying a $350 rubber ball at Disney World.

Here are four simple secret principles you can put into practice immediately to instantly align yourself and guide your business to be among the “haves”:

1)    Stop believing your business is different. In the GKIC February 2013 Gold Letter, Dan Kennedy discusses and shows evidence of how human emotions are the same no matter the educational level, income and affluence level, life experience or sophistication. In other words, no matter their differences, people respond the same to GKIC marketing strategies.

Once you stop believing GKIC marketing ideas won’t work in your business because your clients, customers, patients or business are different, you will experience tremendous financial breakthroughs. So next time you think one of our marketing ideas won’t work, try it first and see what happens.  (If you aren’t currently receiving the Gold Letter, click here to get 2 issues, along with $633.91 of free money-making Info.)

 

2)    Make big changes with small choices.  Every business owner understands the painful necessity of choice in decision-making for their business. It’s these choices and the fear of making the wrong choice that sometimes paralyzes a business owner.

If you find yourself paralyzed by indecision, make a smaller choice to get you started. For example, if you are unsure about a marketing strategy, test a small portion of your target market first to see if the strategy works.

After all, it’s better to do something than nothing. Plus by making a smaller choice, you don’t have to worry so much about making a wrong decision.

 

3)    Differentiate yourself. This is especially important in highly competitive markets. If you want to be able to charge the highest possible fees and never compete on price, you must distinguish yourself from your competitors.

Think you can’t charge more for your products? Think again. Disney charges $350 for a rubber ball that you can buy at Walmart for $5.00.

Think your business is different?

See point one.

(Learn about how to differentiate and avoid commoditization on our upcoming Diamond Member Calls in March and April where Sally Hogshead discusses using customer fascination and three great GKIC members discuss strategy for fighting differentiation in highly competitive and commoditized markets.  Not a Diamond Member? Get access here.)

 

4)    Do something to market your business every day. Many of our most successful members talk about how taking “massive action” has generated a lot of their success. However, for some that seems overwhelming. Realize that even doing one small marketing activity every day can have enormous impact.

Dan has a rule of doing something to drive his business forward every day. That means that sometimes you have to make the choice between quitting work at your normal time or staying ten more minutes to send an email or fax to a potential client. What small choice can you make today that will make a difference in your business tomorrow and beyond?

Follow these four simple principles and before you know it you’ll be one of the “haves” experiencing more freedom, less stress and an income that can provide you with both everything you need and everything you could ever want.

NOTE:  How would you like to be among the “haves” within the next 90 days? You can double your profits when you attend Chief Marketing Officer Dave Dee’s FREE webinar, “The Top 10 Ways to Radically Transform Your Business and Double Your Profits In Just 90 Days”,  on February 21, 2013 at 8:00 PM EST

If you look around and see businesses in your niche doing better than you…or wonder how you can be the leader in your field and one of the “Haves” then you won’t want to miss Dave’s free presentation. Make the choice to register right now so you can begin transforming your life immediately. To register for this FREE event, click here NOW.

Small Things That Provide BIG Impact

By: Dave Dee on: January 31st, 2013 No Comments

In this month’s issue of Success Magazine, best-selling author and keynote speaker Jason Dorsey says people fail because they set too big of goals.

Not that you shouldn’t set big goals…

Dorsey says,

“Most people never reach their biggest goals because they can’t stick to them in the beginning.”

He says the “all-important first 30 or 60 days” is when the “magic” happens.

So what stops people from experiencing “the magic?”

A major success obstacle is people simply can’t break their bad habits and replace them with new habits.

The simplest way to understand this is to think about losing weight. You may have to break bad eating habits and/or start exercising. That means you need to not only get rid of an old habit (eating fully loaded hamburgers at lunch) but form a new, better habit (eating salad for lunch instead.)

This happens in business too. Say you want to increase your income. You may have a set way of doing business that you need to change. Fears you have to overcome. Or organization and productivity habits that need to be re-aligned.

The solution?

Dorsey suggests that you set smaller goals. He says that way you can “achieve goals on your list right away, “see yourself making progress every day,” and “gain the courage necessary to pursue bigger goals.”

Great suggestion. But that’s not all you can do.

Here’s some other “small things” that can provide a BIG impact on your business this year:

Focus on one instead of many. Sometimes it’s not that you have too big of a goal, it’s that you have too many goals. Choose one thing that you are going to succeed at and put all your energy into that.

For example, if you want to double your business, maybe it’s that you should focus all your energy into getting more clients, customers or patients.  Once you achieve that goal then move on to your second most pressing issue.

Realize small changes can equal big gains. Last year, we started offering copy critiques from our professional GKIC copywriters to those who subscribe to Copy Confidential. Often times a suggestion from our copywriters to make a small change to the language or to use one copywriting strategy meant a huge change in results of a campaign.

I also remember Dan Kennedy telling a story about getting paid I believe it was $100,000 to add just a few words to a sales letter. The letter had worked well for a long time, but sales had slowed. The company hired Dan to get the sales letter to work again. By adding a few words to the headline, the sales letter began selling like gangbusters again.

Think about what small changes you can make that will have a big impact. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Adding copy cosmetics to guide your reader, making your copy easier to read as discussed in  Chapter 8 in the Ultimate Sales Letter Book.
  • Unlocking The Secrets of Direct Mail is full of small changes that make a big impact. For instance, instead of sending the same message to everyone, segment your audience and customize your message to consumers. This is easier than you think. Using software like Infusionsoft, you can tag and segment your audience automatically. Sometimes it’s just a matter  of changing a few words, an offer, or a headline to match each specific audience.  It heightens the connection between you and your prospects which can make a big difference in bottom line sales.
  • Shift your focus in selling. Instead of focusing on how many sales presentations you can make or how many sales you can close, shift your thinking to focus on making yourself into the authority on whatever it is you are selling.

 

Think of it this way. If you go to the dentist and she tells you that you need to get a filling, you’re going to get your tooth filled, right? You don’t question it or think about it, you just do it because she says you need to.

By becoming the authority in your market, when it comes time to close a sale, the customer will buy from you because you are the expert and they are going to do what the experts tell them.  (For more on how to become an authority, check out Sales & Persuasion Strategies.)

Dedicate a small, focused time each day. Dan Kennedy’s “an hour a day” success tip Tuesday was “Take an hour a day, every day, and invest it in any one thing: writing, physical fitness, creating publicity, becoming an expert at something, whatever, and you’ll be “world class” in that very fast.”

Time and time again, I’ve witnessed people shift to focusing on just one thing and as a result, rise quickly in their chosen field.

Small but mighty. There’s an old quote, “The mighty Oak was once a little nut that stood its ground.”

Whether it’s setting smaller goals, focusing on one goal instead of many, or carefully choosing the small changes you will make, don’t be afraid to think small. Often “small” makes a BIG and lasting impact that can turn your business into the “giant oak” you’ve been dreaming of.

NOTE: Want something that can dramatically improve your earning power with a lot less stress and strain? Want to stop floundering? Devote just 2 days at our next Fast Implementation Bootcamp. You’ll complete a fully loaded marketing campaign, ready to launch the minute you get home. This is NOT about giving you more knowledge and more information. It’s about making a change in your business today so you can start getting results tomorrow.

Find out why people are raving about this FREE bootcamp. Discover what people are saying and how you can register for our next bootcamp now.

How To Build Your Own “Million Dollar Rolodex”

By: Dan Kennedy on: January 24th, 2013 4 Comments

This month, in the No B.S. Marketing Letter I talked about the only two ways to think about the 1% and 99%.

If you read it, you got a big lesson in how certain thinking and complaints can virtually guarantee you will never be rich—and what to do if you want to change your circumstance and become a member of the 1% club.

Another complaint that comes from the unsuccessful is that success or wealth has more to do with WHO you know than WHAT you know.

Some people may think this is unfair. When they see someone getting ahead because of who they know, they think it’s not right.

But why they feel that’s bad or unfair is beyond me. Like it or don’t, it’s the way the game is.

For as long as people have been conducting business, one of the ways to win at it is to surround yourself with successful people.

In NFL football, it takes 10 yards to get a 1st down. Maybe it should be 8 or 12 yards instead, but it’s 10.

So the coach and his team need to figure out how to get 10 yards in three plays.

It’s the same with your business. Determine your goals and put a plan together to achieve them. For example, if you know you need to get some “who’s” on board, you’ve got to figure out how to get to know the people who can contribute to your success.

My “Million Dollar Rolodex” is called that because I value it that highly. Case in point, a specialty printer I use came from my rolodex. At the time, we had called and gotten three quotes from local printers and one from a little-known, specialty printer, out of state, who did the kind of printing we needed. We saved 55% by knowing about the existence of this printer.

In preparation for February 3rd’s Superbowl, next week, the NFL’s annual traveling NFL Experience will be underway in New Orleans.

The “interactive theme park” spans more than 850,000 square feet and costs $25 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under.

If you’ve ever been to one of these things, there is plenty to do. Interactive stations where you can test your football skills such as punting and throwing. Obstacle courses and chances to try on actual pro football gear. There is a Pro Football Hall of Fame. Food vendors and, of course, an NFL shop.

This is also a good place to meet one of your favorite pro football players, celebrities or some of the major players in business as they are known to be there for the big game and will wander near or around the “Experience”.

There’s a lesson here if you look for it. First of all, if you want “who’s” that can help you be successful, you need to do your homework to figure out who those people are or what type of people they are. If you don’t know who would be helpful to you, how can you expect to recognize them should the opportunity arise let alone find anyone to introduce you to them? It’s worth mentioning that while you may not always have specific names of “who’s”  that can help you, identifying a specific industry or company will help you quickly recognize a successful “who” for you to connect with.

Second, once you’ve identified some “who’s” you should do a little research to figure out what they are interested in, something about their company, etc. This way if you happen to get the opportunity to talk to them, you can establish immediate rapport by discussing something you know they will be interested in.

Third, determine if you know someone who might be able to make an introduction for you.  Remember it’s a small world. You may already know someone who is friends with, works with or plays golf with your “target who.” Usually they are more than willing  to make an introduction for you.  You just have to ask.  (Hint your GKIC membership might be a good place to start. Use your online Success Club, GKIC Chapter meetings, and GKIC events as place to meet “who’s”. Not a member yet? You can take a test drive FREE here.)

Not that I’m suggesting stalking, but if you see that a “who” is an active member of an organization or club or you find out from scanning the paper that they will be speaking at an event, attend the meeting or, if it makes sense, become an active member of that club.

Fourth, know what you are going to say ahead of time.  Make a great first impression and good things are bound to happen. Almost every event I speak at, people want to ask me about their business. Unfortunately, what I often hear are vague generalities. Be specific about what it is you are looking for. No one can help if they don’t know what you want.

Fifth, you should have a follow up plan in place.  Just like a sales letter that is sent out with no follow up, not following up on a potential hot lead will have a similar result.

Start to build your “Million Dollar Rolodex” by putting yourself in situations where you will be surrounded by quality people and then taking action to build rapport and relationships with them.

NOTE: Leeza Gibbons may be best known for her role as one of the original hosts of Entertainment Tonight, but for almost a decade, Leeza has been the force and face behind one of the most successful direct response products ever. She is a made from scratch entrepreneur, a brilliant marketer, a savvy media insider, and a dynamic and exciting speaker. Wouldn’t she be a powerful “who” to meet and have in your corner? Everyone who attends the GKIC Women’s Next Level Summit will have a meet ‘n greet photo opportunity with Leeza.

Of course this is only one of the many “who’s” that will be featured speakers at this event. And it has been my experience that events with this caliber of speakers tends to draw the best, brightest and most successful entrepreneurs as they understand the value of being there. That means chances are good you’ll be sitting among some pretty successful people who might just be able to help you out.

Even better, you’d expect to pay for an event like this. But we’re giving it to members FREE, with a refundable seat deposit. That means you pay $97 to reserve your seat and once you show up at the event, we’ll give you your money back. www.gkicwomen.com

P.P.S. Last I checked, this event was pretty close to being filled to capacity. And of course, this is going out to over 100,000 people who receive our content emails. So if you want to attend, you’d be wise to hurry and register now.

The Top Five Behaviors To Avoid If You Want To Be Successful…

By: Dave Dee on: January 22nd, 2013 4 Comments

The other day, something Dan Kennedy wrote triggered a memory of a profound statement a multi-millionaire once told me …

Dan talked about how we all have certain “self-sabotage” behaviors.

This made me remember a conversation I had at one of Dan’s seminars…

The seminar was packed with “players” who had spent their money, and more importantly, their time to continue learning how to market their business better. It was a great opportunity to meet, network and talk with mega-successful people who are so open to sharing their wisdom and secrets to success.

Anyway, after the seminar, the owner of a multi-million dollar franchising company said the following to me…

“I give all of my people a blueprint for how they can be successful, but when I get back home, I’m going to create a blueprint for how people can fail at their business as well. This way, they can check both blueprints and see if their behaviors are leading them down the road to success or the road to failure.”

Isn’t that a great idea?

We are always talking about what to do to be successful, but we don’t always talk about the behaviors that lead to failure. And part of becoming successful is eliminating the bad behaviors. Of course, if you don’t know what those are, it’s hard to get rid of them, right?

Here are some of the top behaviors that lead people to frustration, struggle and even failure:

1) Not investing in lead generation. Dan Kennedy says, “A business without a mailing list isn’t a business.” EVERY business should have a strategy for capturing names—not just from people who have purchased your products or services, but for prospects as well. Each new name acquired is a “gateway” to new business, repeat business, and referrals you wouldn’t otherwise have. You can create the greatest marketing campaign in the world, but if you don’t have a list of prospects to send it to or are unwilling to spend money to build a list, you are dead in the water.

2) Investing too heavily in one strategy. Too often I see business owners use only the Internet for all of their advertising. Even worse, is using just one Internet strategy—like only sending emails, or only using Pay Per Click to drive traffic to their site. This is an error of EPIC proportions. I admit I’ve even fallen into only using the Internet myself, but I guarantee you it’s not a trap I will fall into again.

In Dan Kennedy’s book, No B.S. Business Success In The New Economy, he says, “One is a very bad number, anywhere you find it…if one media produces a disproportionate percentage of your customers, you are subject to being summarily put out of business.” Even the biggest Internet marketers on the planet know they must integrate online and offline strategies…and that the marriage of these two is where their riches lie.

3) Not knowing who your ideal target market is. At Dan Kennedy’s Mailbox Millionaire seminar, Dan said, “At least half of the battle is won via selection, not ‘creative’ message, copy, offer, etc.” Mediocre marketing aimed at a very well selected target market will get superior results. However the best marketing message in the world aimed at a poorly selected target market will get you mediocre results at best. You can’t expect to effectively craft a powerful marketing message to attract your ideal customer, client or patient, if you don’t first have a very clear picture of who that person is. Clearly define who it is you are catering to, first. Then craft your message.

4) Not knowing how to sell. The most successful people I know are also master salespeople. If you don’t know how to sell, you are going to continue to struggle. In fact, in Sales and Persuasion Strategies, Dan discusses the ONE thing you must never do that incredibly 99% of all business owners do that creates a huge obstacle to selling. Once people remove their selling obstacles, not only do they see their profits soar, but they speed up the sale and stop competing for business too.

5) Not taking action. The one thing you will hear over and over and over again from our most successful members—and members who have transformed their business in what seems like overnight is to take “massive action.” You can think about getting rich all day long, but unless you DO something, customers are not going to magically appear and start giving you money. Worry less about failure and just get moving. The reality is the men and women of ACTION are the ones who are the wealthiest.

How many of these behaviors are you exhibiting? Focus on eliminating them this year and you will go a long way towards removing much of your frustration and struggle in your business.

What are some of the self-sabotaging behaviors you’ve eliminated that you feel helped you move forward? Why not share them in the comment section below.

NOTE: Another one of the top behaviors that lead to failure is not investing in continuing education and coaching. The most successful people I know are constantly investing both time and money in learning. I’ve heard people say, “Well he is rich so he can afford to go to seminars, hire coaches and buy products.”

The truth is that a person is successful because they invested time and money in training, coaching and education BEFORE they had the money to invest. Can you imagine someone wanting to get hired and paid as a doctor without investing in the education and training necessary first? I remember struggling to buy Dan Kennedy’s “Magnetic Marketing” program for $279 about 13 years ago. I can’t imagine where my life would be today if I had not invested in that.

You have an opportunity to get some amazing coaching and education FREE at the GKIC Women’s Next Level Summit Event. You just need to register and make the $97 refundable seat deposit and get yourself there. Find out more or register now.

The Best Thing You Can Do To Improve The Lives Of Your Children…

By: Darcy Juarez on: January 17th, 2013 3 Comments

“One of the biggest gifts that you can give your daughter is to show her that you love what you do.”
—Maggie Wilderotter, Frontier CEO and one of the 21 female Fortune 500 CEOs

When Brittany Lynch was 15 or 16 years old, she remembered her dad getting a lot of “junk mail.”

Curious about it, she asked him, “Dad what is all this junk mail you keep getting from Dan Kennedy? And more importantly, why do you seem to be reading it every month?”

Her dad kind of laughed and said, “One of the best things you could do to improve your life and your future is to read this “junk mail” every day.”

So she started reading the GKIC newsletter and Dan Kennedy right then and there. Now, at the age of 23, Lynch owns and operates a million dollar a year information marketing business.

2013 marks the 20th anniversary of the “Take our daughters and sons to work” program.

The program was started as a way of creating “an enriching educational experience for our nation’s daughters and sons” and offering expanding opportunities that can transform the lives of girls and boys both nationally and internationally.

With the budget war and talk about how the debt will affect the well-being of future generations, today, in honor of the “Take our daughters and sons to work” anniversary, I want to talk about how you can positively influence your children’s future so that, no matter the state of the economy, they can be prosperous and escape the burden of worrying about money.

Speaker and author Tom Maxwell says,

“Transformation must happen in the life of a leader before it can happen in the life of a company or nation.”

In order to do this, he says you need to “create a growth environment.”

Growth thrives in favorable surroundings. It follows that if you make your environment conducive to learning about success, marketing and business, you can help transform the life of your child so they will be ready to lead their own company. Here are four ways you can create a growth environment:

Get them in the habit of reading.  In his blog post READ THIS If You Want More For Your Life, Dan Kennedy discusses books to transform your life and how a common exchange among the uber-successful is to discuss what they are reading. He says, “Earnest acquisition of electric knowledge is the “secret” of the successful. Not having time for it is a choice of the poor” (if you missed this article you can read it here.)

Brittany Lynch credits a lot of her success to reading what turned out NOT to be “junk mail” from Dan Kennedy.  Give your No B.S. Newsletters and No B.S. books to your kids to read and discuss them at dinner. You might even see what ideas your kids have for your business after reading them and reward them if they come up with an idea you use. (If you aren’t currently receiving the No B.S. Newsletters, you can sign up to receive them along with your free gift of $633.91 worth of money making information here.)

Can’t get them to read the material? Author John Maxwell says that when he was growing up his parents paid him to read books off a list instead of paying him to do chores.

Give them space to think. Dan says you should give yourself time to think. And you should give your kids time to think too. Between school, studying, social networking, sports, music and other activities, kids are tightly scheduled. Give your kids space and make sure they have free time to devote to doing kid things and an atmosphere that will inspire and promote kid creativity and self-discovery.

Make discussing business at the dinner table the norm. Much-discussed sister act of the corporate world, are Denise M. Morrison, CEO of Campbell Soup, and her sister, Frontier CEO Maggie Wilderotter. They are the first sisters to make Fortune‘s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. They are also only two of the family’s super-achievers as they have two other sisters who have also risen to the top in business, one as a regional vice president for a tech company and the other a former senior vice president of sales at AT & T. They credit their parents for their confidence and business savvy.

Wilderotter says it was normal for them to discuss business, set high standards and great goals at the dinner table. She never thought it was boring or out of the ordinary because that was all they knew.

They learned about profit-margin goals, marketing plans and customer sampling. They learned to work hard, be independent and not give up.

Have them write business plans for what they want. Wilderotter and Morrison talk about how they picked jobs out of a jar every Saturday.  In order for them to receive an allowance, they had to complete the tasks they drew out of the jar.  They could also barter to do a different job.  Wilderotter also says, “We did business plans on anything we wanted. Like getting our ears pierced.”  The sisters had to wear screw back earrings for a year to prove to their dad that it wasn’t a fad. In their plan they also showed that getting their ears pierced wasn’t a big alteration to their appearance and that they could save money by taking advantage of a two for one special to get their ears pierced and share earrings.

The sisters say the attention to detail, being thorough, and being innovative at a young age helped them with future business plans.

Help your kids unlock their greatness by creating an environment that helps them develop and grow into the most successful people they can be. When you do, you’ll help ensure their successful and profitable future, no matter what the leaders of today do to affect the economy.

NOTE:  One more way to create an environment conducive to growth?  “The challenge”, Wilderotter says, is for girls and young women to find the people and networks that will support their aspirations.”

Why not celebrate the 20th anniversary of the “Take our daughters and sons to work” program by bringing your daughters to a place where they can tap into a network of some of the most successful women (and men) on the planet?

Imagine how inspiring that would be and what an opportunity you would give her—an opportunity that could truly transform her life. Not to mention getting the chance to expose her to Dan Kennedy live for the first time.

Whether you are a father bringing your daughter or a mother bringing your daughter, this is a great opportunity to bond with her in a new way and give her tools to make her future better and brighter. Best of all you can register for FREE and bring a guest for a low fee. But you’ll have to hurry, the GKIC Women’s Next Level Business Summit, which takes place February 8-10th   only has 49 spots left. Click here for more information or to register now.